Direct mail is a proven method of increasing your sales and your company visibility in the business market. But there is a right way and a wrong way to do direct mail.

We are going to focus on how the graphic design of your direct mail piece plays a huge part in the results you can expect for your organization. Some direct mail pieces are merely letters sent out in envelopes to inform prospects of the products and services you offer. But most are catalogs, postcards or flyers which are folded and tabbed.

Many times people will not open an envelope that they recognize as direct mail, unless they know the company or have an immediate need for the product or service that your company name or envelope implies.

You can deal with this in one of several ways:

You can get over this speed bump by hand addressing the envelope. People will open a hand-addressed envelope more than they will open a labeled one, and certainly more than an envelope that does not reference a particular person within the company.

If your mailing is too large to do hand-written addresses, create a compelling short statement designed to get your intended audience to open the envelope.

Flyers:

As it relates to flyers that are folded with clear, affixed tabs, make sure that both sides of the folded flyer carry enough information to make the person want to open the tab and read more. Many people make the mistake of having one side void of worthwhile information.

The same problem exists with postcards and flyers. They should be compelling enough to make the reader turn it over for more information.